Pet food making process

Following the increasing demand for nutrition and regulatory compliance, pet food formulation needs to take factors such as fat tissue content, protein quality, the moisture level of raw materials into consideration. Pet foods oftentimes are made from dry ingredients such as feed grain and soybean meal, byproducts of meat and seafood, and liquid ingredients such as water and meat broth. Also, coatings and coloring and flavoring agents are needed in pet food formulas to appeal to different pet groups.

The broad range of available ingredients for pet food production requires precise weighing and dosing in the handling of raw materials. Another crucial step in processing pet food ingredients is grinding and mixing, ensuring the required particle size and consistency of the mixture. Before going into extrusion, the grinded and mixed ingredients need to be (pre-) conditioned. The addition of moisture and fat with pre-heating conditions makes sure that the mixture to be extruded reach the desired nutritional quality, bulk density and consistency. Finally, extruded and pelleted pet foods proceed to the coating and cooling section of the entire production before packaging.

For canned pet food, the production process centers around the handling of meat and flesh products from defrosting and rendering to grinding, cooking and mixing with other ingredients such as vitamins, minerals and preservatives. After packaging and sealing in cans (and labeled), wet pet food needs to go through a crucial step, sterilization.

Packaging and sterilization of pet food

The basic difference between wet and dry pet food is the water content, which affects the shelf life of the product – 3-5 years for wet pet food and 10-12 months for dry pet food. The most common forms of dry pet food include kibbles, biscuits and snacks, which after processing are transferred to bags, boxes or pouches to pack the right amount of weight.

Instead, ingredients in wet pet food are measured and mixed together and put into cans, trays or pouches. The selected container is sealed and cooked at certain temperatures. To guarantee the microbiological safety of the food, sterilization is a critical part of wet pet food manufacturing process. Sterilization takes place in a retort where steam is pumped under high pressure.